On July 16, 2023, Matter Studio Gallery hosts a closing art party for Matter of Fact, a solo exhibition by Woody Johnson.

Matter Studio

About Woody Johnson

For more than fifty years, sculptor and painter Woody Johnson has been an active member of the Bay Area arts community. Johnson worked in a variety of capacities such as an art teacher, university lecturer, artist-in-residence, curator, and gallery board member. His work has been featured in both group and solo exhibitions across the country. He has also been commissioned for city and school projects.

His involvement in the arts community has been as varied and diverse and his work itself. Formally trained as a sculptor, his work has expanded into printmaking, painting, and photography. Inspired by his travels around the globe, Woody Johnson embodies the consummate artist. His dedication and perseverance over many decades of art-making is fueled by a tireless commitment to both his craft and his community.

History

Starting his artistic career as a sculptor, his appreciation for wood as an artistic medium came from his father, who was a cabinetmaker in North Carolina. After studying graphics and sculpture at the California College of Arts and Crafts, he traveled to Nigeria. He had the chance to study with master Yoruba sculptor Lamidi Fakeye. He has used his skills as a sculptor to produce safe and culturally-stimulating environments for children—one of which is still in existence today, some fifty years later.

In 1968, Woody Johnson traveled to Bolivia, where he lived for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer. Then, he traveled to Europe, where he spent time studying pre-Columbian pottery at various museums. What he witnessed in the Peruvian pots would become the impetus and inspiration for a series of block prints titled Monkey See, Monkey Do or the Monkey Series See, Monkey Do or The Monkey Series.

CLICK HERE to find out about past exhibitions at this gallery.

On view: June 18, 2023 – July 16, 2023

What: Matter of Fact, Woody Johnson
Where: Matter Studio Gallery, 5080 W. Pico Blvd., LA, 90019
When: Running through July 16, 2023
Website: https://matterstudiogallery.com